Orb of Honorius
THE ORB OF HONORIUS 8-point Wonder (Arete 4, Quintessence 5) Created in the 13th century by the Hermetic enchanter Regnum, this dread item was made using Tass from the blood of seven powerful and insane vampires. It is a blood red sphere the size of a large cherry set on a jet-black chain. It makes the wearer immortal and gives her the power to command the wills of others. However, it is also deeply corrupt and there is an ancient sect of vampire hunters dedicated to destroying both it and its user. The user can command others with great ease and can make those she commands do almost anything short of committing suicide. Both elder vampires and the Technocracy see this unique item as a serious threat to their power and would dearly love to acquire it. System: Because the item was made using the blood of several exceptionally powerful vampires, the user gains the Iron Will, Unaging and Unbondable Merits.However, the item's primary power is a Mind 4 Effect that allows the wearer to command others verbally. The wearer need only make a Manipulation + Leadership roll with a difficulty of 6. Then, the Talisman rolls its Arete of 4 with a difficulty of 7 minus the number of successes rolled on the previous roll. One success allows the wearer to compel the target to take any action that she has no moral or ethical objections to and which also does not directly harm the target. Rolling three or more successes allows the user to force the target to perform any action except committing suicide. Unless the target is either warded against Mind magics or spends a point of Willpower and rolls a number of successes on a Willpower roll (difficulty of 7 ) equal to the number rolled by the user, she will obey this command. Since resisting each command requires an additional expenditure of Willpower, the owner can eventually wear down the will of any being.Also, while none of the item's powers require Quintessence, it can hold a small amount of Quintessence. In addition to being able to draw it from Nodes, it will also gain one point of Quintessence from being soaked in a pint of blood from a vampire or a Ghoul. Also, to maintain the wearer's immortality, the orb must be soaked in a quart of freshly drained blood of a human, ghoul or vampire once every season. As aside effect of its creation from vampiric Tass, the user gains the Nightmares Flaw- she frequently dreams of vampires and bloodletting. Unfortunately, if the user takes the orb off when she sleeps she will age during this time. Also, this orb is both infamous and hated and so the wearer also gains the Witch-Hunted Flaw. Users also find that this item automatically be-comes their Unique Focus for all Mind magics. Unlike most Talismans, users cannot choose whether or not to take this Talisman a focus. If they wear it for more than nine days it bonds to them and automatically becomes their focus. Category:Mage: The Ascension glossary